Musical instrument

ABSTRACT

A musical instrument formed from an empty five-gallon gasoline can and an upstanding neck with a steeply sloping fingerboard. The gasoline can is of the conventional flat-sided type, with a pouring opening and handle on top, used to carry gasoline on Jeeps and other vehicles, and rests on one of a pair of parallel sides to form the base of the instrument. The upstanding neck has a lower leg which is secured to the can to extend vertically upwardly adjacent its handle and beyond its upwardly facing side. The fingerboard is disposed above the gasoline can and extends for about three feet from a lower end spaced above the can to an upper end offset from the lower end toward the edge of the can. The instrument has a single string which is knotted at its lower end and passes upwardly through an opening in the upwardly facing side of the can to a twisting peg mounted in the upstanding neck just above the fingerboard. The string is positioned so that it can be depressed to the fingerboard by hand for instrument playing purposes. The leg and fingerboard parts of the upstanding neck are joined by a web having a saddle-shaped upper side on which one can lean, place a foot, or sit, while playing the instrument. Associated with the gasoline can is a foot pedal which actuates a striker bar pivotally mounted inside the can to produce a percussive effect.

United States Patent [191 Forbes Nov. 27, 1973 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT [76] Inventor: Richard H. Forbes, 2895 Laramie Rd., Riverside, Calif. 92506 22 Filed: Feb. 26, 1973 Y 21 Appl.No.: 335,789

. 57 ABSTRACT A musical instrument formed from an empty fivegallon gasoline can and an upstanding neck with a steeply sloping fingerboard. The gasoline can is of the conventional flat-sided type, with a pouring opening and handle on top, used to carry gasoline on Jeeps and other vehicles, and rests on one of a pair of parallel sides to form the base of the instrument. The upstanding neck has a lower leg which is secured to the can to extend vertically upwardly adjacent its handle and beyond its upwardly facing side. The fingerboard is disposed above the gasoline can and extends for about three feet from a lower end spaced above they can to an upper end offset from the lower end toward the edge of the can. The instrument has a single string which is knotted at its lower end and passes upwardly through an opening in the upwardly facing side of the can to a twisting peg mounted in the upstanding neck just above the fingerboard. The string is positioned so that it can be depressed to the fingerboard by hand for instrument playing purposes. The leg and fingerboard parts of the upstanding neck are joined by a web hav ing a saddle-shaped upper side on which one can'lean, place a foot, or sit, while playing the instrument. Associated with the gasoline can is, a foot pedal which actuates a striker bar pivotally mounted inside the can to produce a percussive effect.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEBNHYZY ms sum 10F 2 FIG 1 FIG 1 w MUSICAL INSTRUMEN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to musical instruments, and more particularly to a novelty bass stringed instrument which can be played in a standing or sitting position. I

' The world of music encompasses a variety of stringed instruments, and percussion instruments, some'of conventional typerequiring the skill and training of an accomplished musician forproper playing, and: others-of a comic,'-or novelty, character, of simpler construction and easier to play than their more conventional couterparts. The bass-viol, for example, is an example of a stringed instrument of conventional type which can properly be played only by a musician of" talent, train.- ing, and experience. The bass violhas a novelty counterpart in an instrument .known colloquially as the fMissouri gut-bucket. The Missouri guvbucket is assembled from a wash tub, an upright neck with a forked lower end and a twisting pegin its upper end, and a string anchoredat its lower end in the center of the bottom of thewash tub and held at the upper end by the ally flattened form with two parallel sides and a pouring opening and handle on top. The upstanding neck has, in addition to the leg portion, a fingerboard portion with a steeply sloping forward surface or edge offset inwardly over the top of the sound box from said leg por tion. These two portions of the neck are joined, near the bottom of the fingerboard portion, by an integral web or bridge portion having a concave, or saddleshaped, upper surface. The neck is preferably topped with an ornamentalscroll, and the instrument, in its preferred form, has a twisting peg for a single string mounted just above the steeply sloping surface of its fingerboard portion in the lowerpart of the scroll. Where the sound box is a five-gallon gasoline can, the leg portion of the neck is fixedly secured to the handle of the can so as'to extend transversely thereacross. In its normal position of use, the instrument rests on one side of the gasoline can, so that the other side faces up, andthe leg portion of the neck extends upwardly in transverse adjacency to the handle on the end of the can to termination above the upper side of the latter. The web, or bridge, portion of the neck extends inwardly from the top of the leg portion of said neck,

twisting peg in the upstanding neck. The instrument is positioned for playing with the wash tub upside-down on a flat surface and the forked lower end of the up right neck fitted to the rim around the bottom of the wash tub. The neck is held so as to bring the string taut, and the string is plucked, or snapped, to provide a rhythmic accompaniment to music beingplayed by one or more other instruments. Because of the manner in I which it must be propped on the rim of the wash tub bottom, the neck is too-far removedfrom the'string to permit depression of the latter thereagainstto shorten its effective length for note control purposes. Consequently, the Missouri gut-bucketcan only be used for playing rhythm, and not melody or harmony. Furthermore, that instrumenthasthe disadvantageofrequiring constant p jessure on its neck, to maintain the latter in down-pressing contact withv the washtub while his over the upwardly facing side of the aforesaid sound box. The fingerboard portion of the neck is integral with the web portion, and extends from a lower end spaced above the sound box to an upper end terminating, it its preferred form, in an ornamental scroll. The slopingforward surface of this fingerboard portion is preferably about three feet long. Hereinafter, this sloping surface will be referred to as the fingerboard or keyboard of the instrument.

The upwardly facing side of the sound box has a hole beingplayed. Finally, (there is .no readily convenient and totally reliable wayof applying-stabilizing force to their, hybridization in a single novelty instrument, no I such instrument has yet, to myknowledge, been proposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

' I have now provided, by this invention, a unique bass stringed instrument which can be played for fun and 1 amusement at parties and the like, andwhich is absent all of. the above=noted disadvantages of the Missouri gut-bucket. Y

My novel musical instrument has a somewhat flat- 1 tened sound box as abase, and an elongate neck extending upwardly'from the lower end of a leg portion fixedly secured to the sound box at its periphery. Preferably, the sound boxis an empty five-gallon gasoline can of the type employed bythe military, hunters, campers, and the like, for carrying of emergency supplies of gasoline on vehicles. Such cans are of generthe instrument as insurance against movement or tipof the instrument isknotted at the bottom and passes upwardly throughthis hole. The knot in the lower end of-the string prevents escape of the string upwardly through the hole, and the upper end of the string is secured to the twisting peg above the fingerboard and tightened by means of this peg. The relative positions of. the tightened string and keyboard are such that the string can be manually depressed to the keyboard at any point throughout the length of the latter. The instrument is played by plucking, or snapping, the free or open portion of the string, by which is meant that portion of the string free to vibrate between its lower end and any point of damping thereabove. This point of damping can occur at the twisting peg or, where the string is depressed against the keyboard, at the point of depression. The string can thus be adjusted to play separate notes by varying the point at which it is pressed to the keyboard, so that the instrument can be made to play rhythm, melody, or harmony for solo or instrumental renditions.

Because of the flatnessof its sound box, my novel instrument is relatively stable in use. Moreover, the saddle-shaped upper side of the web portion of its upstandthe instrument.

It will thus be seen that my novel stringed instrument has greater musical versatility than the Missouri gutbucket, and, unlike the latter, has built -in means per- :mitting the performer to easily bring pressure to bear in suchmanner as to render it completely stable in use without impairment of its sound qualities. Furthermore, the parts of my novel instrumentare securely fastened together, so that the performer does not have to hold one part in firm contact with another, to interfere,

' strument is being played). My novel instrument has an I elongate keyboard to permit note variation in its plucked string, a feature entirely lacking in the Missouri gut-bucket. Finally, my novel instrument can be played by one seated (or with a leg or foot comfortably propped thereon) rather than requiring the standing position, as is normally required in the case of the Missouri gut-bucket.

In its preferred form, the novel instrument of this invention' has a .foot-pedal-actuated strike rod with a drumming head on one end cooperatively associated with its sound box. This assembly includes a springloaded foot pedal positioned along one side of the sound ,box in easy reach of a players foot, means for mounting the strike rod substantially entirely inside of the sound box, and means for supporting the strike rod and interconnecting it with the foot pedal in such fashion that downward pressure on the foot pedal causes the strike rod to pivot so that its drumming head strikes the bottom surface of the upwardly facing side of the sound box to give a percussive effect. There is thus provided, in this preferred form of my invention, a combined string and percussion instrument which can be played by one without an extensive musical background either as a'bass stringed instrument along, or as a combined stringed and percussion instrument.

Itis thus a principal object of this invention to provide a bass stringed instrument of novel character which can be played without a great deal of difficulty for fun and amusement.

It is another object of the invention to provide such an instrument which'can be played without requiring constant effort on the part of the player to hold its parts firmly togetherwhile he is performing.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an instrument having means on which the player can exert instrument stabilizing pressure by comfortably resting a foot, hand, or leg thereon.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an instrument with built-in means on which a player .can sit while performing.

Stil another object of the invention is to provide such an instrument having fingerboard means for adjusting the string length to pennit the playing of a range of notes for melody and harmony, as well as rhythmic, ef-

Another object of the invention is to provide suchan instrument with percussion means controlled by afoot pedal within easy-reach of the player.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an instrument having a sound box with an internally mounted strike rod and drumming head adapted to produce a percussive effect upon striking an inner surface of the sound box.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the light of subsequent disclosures herein.

v BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

' FIG. 1 is an elevation, taken from one side, of a preferred embodiment of a musical instrument in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is another elevation, taken from the other side, of the musical instrument.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the musical instrument.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the instrument.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary back view, showing the lower I portion of the instrument.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the musical instrument, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a still further enlarged view of the instrument, taken mostly in section, along line 7-7 of FIG.-

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Considering now the drawings in greater detail, there is shown generally-at M a preferred embodiment of a novel musical instrument in accordance with this invention. The musical instrument M has a sound box 10 at its base, an upstanding neck 12 and a foot-pedalcontrolled percussion assembly 50. Sound box 10 is actually an empty five-gallon gasoline can of the type widely used by the military, explorers, hunters and the like, to carry emergency supplies of gasoline on vehicles, with openings cut in appropriate places as set forth below. The gasoline can has handle means 14, of

conventional type, on its top, as well as a top opening 13, again of conventional type, for filling and/or dispensing purposes. While opening 13 is adapted to receive a cap closure, it is preferably left open to enhance the effectiveness of the can as a sound box for the instrument M.

The upstanding neck 12 has a lower leg portion or segment; 20, a finger-board segment 22 terminating at its upperend in an ornamental scroll30, and a web or bridge segment 26. The neck is preferably cut or carved from wood as an integral piece, except for the scroll, which is separately carved and glued to the top of the fingerboard segment in the manner indicated at 21 in FIGS. 1 and 2. While scroll 30 is in the shape of a grotesque horse's head, any of a number of other scroll configurations could, of course, be substituted therefor, if desired. The leg portion 20 of the upstanding neck is fastened transversely across handle means 14 of a sound box 10 so as to extend vertically upwardly when the instrument is in the position shown in the drawing (its normal playing position), by means of I inafter referred to simply as fingerboard or keyboard 24) preferably about three feet long, on its front side. As will be clear from the drawings, and the foregoing description, the gasoline can sound box 10 lies flat on I one side to form the base of instrument M in its normal playing position. The generally flattened shape of the gasoline can sound box thus lends a certain stability to the upstanding instrument. The upwardly facing side of the sound box, shown at 15, has a major portion of genwardly'above side of sound box 10 and the slanting fingerboard 24 extends upwardly from this lower end, in a steep slope, to an upper terminal point closer than said lower end to the axis of leg segment of the neck.

The web or bridge segment 26 of the neck'integrally connects its fingerboard and leg segments in the mannerbest illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The upper surface of this web or bridge segment is formed in the shape of a saddle, as shown at 29, for reasons hereinafter revealed.

.Passing from the rear, through a bore 36 (see FIG. 7) in the lower portion of the ornamental scroll 30, is a twisting peg 33. Twisting peg 33 fits loosely within bore 36 so that it can be easily turned, or twisted, therein.

Positioned-in an appropriately sized second bore 39 in the ornamental scroll (again see FIG. 7) is a manually operable set screw 38 movable into and out of contact with the twisting peg to permit locking of the latter in any position of annular adjustment in bore 36. The set screw 38 has threads 42 around the forward portion of its shaft, and a nut 43, threadedly engageable with the set screw, is embedded in the scroll woodwork in the proper position to permit turning of the set screw into and out of contact .with twisting peg 36, all as best shown in FIG. 7. Musical instrument M has a single string 32, which stretches from an opening 18 at the center of the rectangular portion of the upper side 15 of sound box 10 to the twisting peg 33. The string 32 is knotted at its lowered end, as shown at 44 in FIG. 6, and threaded upwardly through the aforesaid opening in the upper side of the sound box. The string is threaded through a spacer 46 and-washer 48, above knot 44, which provides means for firmly holding the lower end of the string in position, and prevent it from slipping upwardly through opening 18in the upper side of the sound box, when the string is tightened aswill be described. String 32 can be any type of 'cord, or similar material, sufficiently strong and resilient, and otherwise adequate, for purposes of this invention. I have found, for example, that conventional clothesline, and particularly nylon clothesline encased within a plastic sleeve, is well suited for use as a string for my novel instrument.

Twisting peg 33 has adiametric opening 34, sized to receive the string 32, near its forward end (see FIG. 7). As FIG. 7 best shows, the twisting peg 33 is positioned to one side' of the longitudinal axis of fingerboard 24,

which permits the string to be positioned in front of this axis, as illustrated in FIG. 3. As the drawing makes clear, all involved partsand featuresof instrument M string extending backwardly away from the opening,

- and snugged in position'beneath the latter string. The

twisting peg is then turned counterc'lockwise,'as seen from the rear, to pull the string to the proper degree of tightness, set screw 38 being loosened to permit this string tightening operation. The twisting peg is movable longitudinally'within opening 36 through the scroll 30, and it is pulled far enough back, to the right as seen in FIG. 2, to bring the string tightly against a wooden nut 40, sized to fit transversely across fingerboard 24 at its upper end (See FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 7). The nut 40 and twisting peg 33 have counterparts of like character in conventional stringed instruments, and the manner in which string 32 is tightened through the cooperative use of the nut and the twisting peg is similar to the way strings are tightened for use on many such conventional instruments. After string 32 has been tightened by means of the twisting peg, the latter is locked in position through the manual turning of set screw 38 into contact therewith. The purpose of the string tightening procedure is, of course, to tune the instrument, after which it is ready for playing.

Instrument M can be played in several ways. For example, the instrument can be played from a standing position by plucking or snapping the full string rhythmically, or by sequentially depressing the string to the fingerboard to vary its length and snapping it below the points of depression to produce different notes for harmony or melody renditions. The player can steady the instrument, if necessary, by placing a foot on the sound box or the saddle-shaped top of web segment 26 of neck 12. Alternatively, he can hook a leg over the web,

I or even sit on it, if he likes, without sacrificing the use of his hands, which are, in all cases, left free to play the instrument. Other ways of playing the instrument will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art in the light of present teachings. f

The foot-pedal-controlled percussion assembly comprises a spring-loaded foot pedal 52, a strike rod 82 with a drumming head 84 positioned substantially within sound box 10, and means supporting and interconnecting these parts to permitactuation of the strike rod through depression of the foot pedal so that drumming head 84 strikes the under surface of the upwardly facing side 15 of the sound box 10 to produce a percussive effect. A narrow strip of lightweight metal, prefera-' gasoline can sound box 10 by screw means (not shown) cooperate to assure this positioning of the string in front of the longitudinal centerline of fingerboard 24. For'example, the upstanding neckl2 of instrument M does not lean to the right or left,as viewed from the front or rear (see FIGS. 3 and 5),'and it is fastened to handle means 14 on the gasoline can sound box 10 halfway between the narrow sides of the can, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, so that the longitudinal centerline of fingerboard 24 is positioned behind string 32 when the latter is stretched between its lower end anchor point at the center of the rectangular major portion of the upper side of the sound box, and twisting peg 33.

To tighten the string for tuning and playing purposes, its upper end is threaded downwardly through the opening 34 in twisting peg 33, passed up and under the to provide a support for the foot pedal 52. To make this possible, the strip 56 extends transversely under the gasoline can for most of its length, then passes outwardly from underneath the can, to the right as seen in FIG. 5, a sufficient distance to furnish said support for the foot pedal. The foot pedal is secured to this outwardly extending portion of strip 56 by means of a spring-loaded hinge 54, in the manner made clear in the drawings. Thehinge 54 has an associated spring 55 which biases the foot pedal to the position shown in FIG. 1, from which it can be depressed, against the spring pressure, for actuation of the strike rod in the below-described manner.

Fixedly secured to the underside of sound box.10 by screw means (not shown), in generally parallel relationship with strip 56, is a second lightweight metal, preferably aluminum, strip 58. Strip 58 extends outwardly'from under the sound box in the same direction, and for approximately the same distance, as does strip 56. This outwardly extending end of strip 58 has an offset bend 59 at its inner end (to the right as seen in FIG. 6) to provide a segment 60 which is at a slightly higher level than the remainder of the strip, for a reason hereinafter appearing. A third metal strip 62, formed from the same material as strip 58, is positioned with an end segment overlying segment 60 of the latter strip and fixedly secured thereto by machine screw and wing nut fastening means 64 (See FIG. 6).

- rod 82 loosely enough to permit pivotal movement of the rod through anarc sufficient to bring drumming head 84 into contact with the under surface of upwardly facing side of the sound box to produce the aforesaid percussive effect. Strike rod 82 is flexibly linked at its left-hand end, as seen in FIG. 6, to the inner edge of foot pedal 52 and extends outwardly from the interior of sound box 10 through the upper part of arcuate slot 66 for this purpose. Foot pedal 52 and strike rod 82 are made of wood, and the flexible linkage therebetween is shown at 86 and consists merely of a pair of interlinked eye-bolts respectively secured to 7 those parts. Strike rod 82 is wrapped with plastic tape to deaden any sound of contact between it and the top of arcuate slot 66 in the sound box or the edge of opening 70 in the prop 68. This wrapping is not a critical feature of my instrument, however, and can be dispensed with if desired. Neither is the wooden construction of the strike rod and/or foot pedal critical to proper design of the instrument, and either or both of these parts could be made of a suitable material or materials other than wood within the scope of my invention. I

A stop member 72, consisting of a screw 74, a thickwalledshock absorbing rubber sleeve 76, and a spacer 78, is affixed to sound box 10 by means of the screw (which is fitted into an appropriate opening in the wall of the sound box) to position the rubber sleeve underneath the outer end of foot pedal 52 at a high enough level to stop the foot pedal after it has been depressed far enough to bring drumming head 84 into contact with the upwardly facing side of the sound box to produce the desired percussive effect. The drumming head can be made of any material and in. any fashion consistent with satisfactory percussion results. Drumming head 84 is preferably a hard rubber ball wrapped with a suitable cloth such as terry cloth, to muffle the sound of impact of the'ball with the top (upwardly facing sde) of the sound box.'As will now be apparent, foot pedal 52 causes counterclockwise rotation of the strike rod I 80 around its pivot point in the opening 70 in prop 68 (as seen in FIG. 6) to cause drumming head 84 to strike the top of the sound box. The foot pedal is easily depressed by one playing instrument M with whichever foot happens to be most conveniently located for the purpose. Normally this will be his right foot.

While the novel instrument of this invention has been herein illustrated in what is considered to be a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various departures may be made from this embodiment within the scope of the invention. Certain of these departures have already been mentioned, and others will occur to those versed in the art in the light of present teachings. By way of example, the sound box of the instrument can be formed from any suitable container or object other than a gasoline can, constructed from any material suitable for the purpose (such as wood, metal, plastic or the like), if desired. Also, the instrument could be fitted with more than one string, and/or made without the foot pedal percussion assembly of instrument M, within the scope of the invention. I

In summary, the scope of the present invention extends to all variant forms thereof encompassed by the language of the following claims.

I claim: I

1. A musical instrument comprising:

a hollow sound box having a pair of spaced apart sides and peripheral wall means joining said sides and holding them in substantially parallel relationship, said sound box being adapted to rest fin'nlyon one of said sides, with the other side facing up, on a flat horizontal surface;

elongate neck means having a fingerboard portion, a leg portion, and a web portion interconnecting the fingerboard and leg portions so as to hold them in axially offset relationship, said leg portion being fastenable to the wall means of said sound box in such a way as to extend upwardly to a level above said sound box when the latter is resting on one side on said flat horizontal surface, and said fingerboard portion having an elongate front surface which is inclined steeply upwardly from a bottom end spaced above the sound box, inboard of an imaginary upward extension of said wall means, to a top end horizontally offset from said bottom end in the direction of an edge of said sound box, when said leg portion is fastened to the sound box, and said sound box is positioned as, indicated above;

string tightening and fastening means associated with said neck means for tightening and fastening the upper end of at least one string in position adjacent the top end of the elongate front surface of said fingerboard portion of the neck means;

anchoring means for holding said at least one string fast at its lower end under tension from said string tightening and fastening means, said anchoring means serving, additionally, to transmit the force of said tension to the upper side of said sound box inboard of said peripheral wall means; and

least one string of the proper length to extend upwardly, from said anchoring means to said string tightening and fastening means'with sufficient slack to permit tightening of the string for tuning and playing purposes by said string tightening and fastening means; i

the position of the anchoring means for of the tightened string being such that the string overlies the elongate front surface of the fingerboard portion of said neck means and is sufficiently close to that surface to permit manual depression of said string into contact with said surface at any point along at least a major portion of the length of the latter to adjust the length of open string therebelow;

the lower end is shaped to provide a place on which pressure can be brought to bear by thehand, foot or leg of a player, or on which theplayer can sit, while he is playing said instrument. r

3. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 2 haivng associated percussion means comprising: 7

a strike rod with a drumming head at one end;

foot pedal means for actuating the strike'rod; and fastening and holding means for securing the foot pedal means to said sound box, pivotally supporting said strike rod substantaillywithin said sound box and interconnecting the strike rod and foot pedal means so that actuation of the strike rod by said foot pedal means causes said drumming head to percussively strike an inner surface of the sound box enclosure and thereby produce a percussive sound effect;

said foot pedal means being positioned'for conveclaim 3 in which said foot pedal means includes a spring-loaded foot pedal and said strike rod is positioned so that the drumming head thereon strikes the bottom of the upper side of said sound box to produce said percussive effect when the strike rod is actuated by the foot pedal means.

5. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 4 in which said sound box is fashioned from an empty gasoline can of five-gallon capacity with a handle on top.

the leg portion therewith.

'10 6. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 5 in which said at least one string is a single string, and said string tightening and fastening means comprises a twisting peg. I r v,

7. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 6 in which the major portion of the upwardly facing side of the gasoline can sound box is of generally rectangular shape and said major portion has a hole through its approximate center, and in which said single string passes upwardly through said hole to said twisting peg in the assembled instrument, said string being prevented from passing upwardly through said hole by said anchoring means, whereby tightening of the string at its upper end with the twisting peg produces tension in the string and insures good anchoring of its lower end in pulling contact with the upwardly facing side of said gasoline can.

8. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 7 in which the fingerboard portion of said neck means has a decorative scroll at its upper end; said twisting peg passes through a first bore in the lower part of said scroll and has a diametric bore sized to receive said string for string tightening purposes; and which has set screw means to lock the twisting peg in position after the string has been tightened thereby.

9. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 8 in which said string tightening and fastening means includes a nut adapted to provide a transverse barrier at the top of the elongate front surface of the finger-board portion of said neck means against which the string is firmly pulled when tightened by means of said twisting peg, said nut serving to hold the tightened string in spaced apart relationship with said elongate front surface.

10. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 9 in which said neck means is secured to the handle of said gasoline can by fastening means connecting 

1. A musical instrument comprising: a hollow sound box having a pair of spaced apart sides and peripheral wall means joining said sides and holding them in substantially parallel relationship, said sound box being adapted to rest firmly on one of said sides, with the other side facing up, on a flat horizontal surface; elongate neck means having a fingerboard portion, a leg portion, and a web portion interconnecting the fingerboard and leg portions so as to hold them in axially offset relationship, said leg portion being fastenable to the wall means of said sound box in such a way as to extend upwardly to a level above said sound box when the latter is resting on one side on said flat horizontal surface, and said fingerboard portion having an elongate front surface which is inclined steeply upwardly from a bottom end spaced above the sound box, inboard of an imaginary upward extension of said wall means, to a top end horizontally offset from said bottom end in the direction of an edge of said sound box, when said leg portion is fastened to the sound box, and said sound box is positioned as indicated above; string tightening and fastening means associated with said neck means for tightening and fastening the upper enD of at least one string in position adjacent the top end of the elongate front surface of said fingerboard portion of the neck means; anchoring means for holding said at least one string fast at its lower end under tension from said string tightening and fastening means, said anchoring means serving, additionally, to transmit the force of said tension to the upper side of said sound box inboard of said peripheral wall means; and at least one string of the proper length to extend upwardly, from said anchoring means to said string tightening and fastening means with sufficient slack to permit tightening of the string for tuning and playing purposes by said string tightening and fastening means; the position of the anchoring means for the lower end of the tightened string being such that the string overlies the elongate front surface of the fingerboard portion of said neck means and is sufficiently close to that surface to permit manual depression of said string into contact with said surface at any point along at least a major portion of the length of the latter to adjust the length of open string therebelow; whereby a performer can play the instrument by using one hand to adjust the length of open string as needed for the playing of rhythm, harmony or melody renditions, and plucking said open string with the other hand.
 2. A musical instrument in accordance with claim 1 in which the top of the web portion of said neck means is shaped to provide a place on which pressure can be brought to bear by the hand, foot or leg of a player, or on which the player can sit, while he is playing said instrument.
 3. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 2 haivng associated percussion means comprising: a strike rod with a drumming head at one end; foot pedal means for actuating the strike rod; and fastening and holding means for securing the foot pedal means to said sound box, pivotally supporting said strike rod substantailly within said sound box and interconnecting the strike rod and foot pedal means so that actuation of the strike rod by said foot pedal means causes said drumming head to percussively strike an inner surface of the sound box enclosure and thereby produce a percussive sound effect; said foot pedal means being positioned for convenient actuation by the foot of a person playing the instrument.
 4. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 3 in which said foot pedal means includes a spring-loaded foot pedal and said strike rod is positioned so that the drumming head thereon strikes the bottom of the upper side of said sound box to produce said percussive effect when the strike rod is actuated by the foot pedal means.
 5. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 4 in which said sound box is fashioned from an empty gasoline can of five-gallon capacity with a handle on top.
 6. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 5 in which said at least one string is a single string, and said string tightening and fastening means comprises a twisting peg.
 7. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 6 in which the major portion of the upwardly facing side of the gasoline can sound box is of generally rectangular shape and said major portion has a hole through its approximate center, and in which said single string passes upwardly through said hole to said twisting peg in the assembled instrument, said string being prevented from passing upwardly through said hole by said anchoring means, whereby tightening of the string at its upper end with the twisting peg produces tension in the string and insures good anchoring of its lower end in pulling contact with the upwardly facing side of said gasoline can.
 8. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 7 in which the fingerboard portion of said neck means has a decorative scroll at its upper end; said twisting peg passes through a first bore in the lower part of said scroll and has a diametric bore sized to receive said string for strinG tightening purposes; and which has set screw means to lock the twisting peg in position after the string has been tightened thereby.
 9. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 8 in which said string tightening and fastening means includes a nut adapted to provide a transverse barrier at the top of the elongate front surface of the finger-board portion of said neck means against which the string is firmly pulled when tightened by means of said twisting peg, said nut serving to hold the tightened string in spaced apart relationship with said elongate front surface.
 10. Musical instrument means in accordance with claim 9 in which said neck means is secured to the handle of said gasoline can by fastening means connecting the leg portion therewith. 